A 43-year-old mother Slindile Zamisa has received a double life imprisonment sentence while her daughter Andile Zamisa (23) was sentenced to life on Thursday.

Their sentencing follows the gruesome murders of mother and daughter Simangele Simamane and Sbongakonke Mthembu. Their bodies were found packed in a big suitcase and dumped along Lwandle Drive in KwaDabeka near the Umgeni River on October 6, 2020. They were stuffed in a suitcase with multiple injuries and strangulation marks.

The Zamisas appeared in the Durban High Court on Thursday to hear their sentence.

“The duo was also condemned to another 11 years in jail for kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice,” says SAPS provincial spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda.

Simangele and Sbongakonke, who were 36 and 12 years old respectively at the time, were reported missing on October 5, 2020, and a police investigation uncovered that the two were last seen at the residence of Slindile, two houses away from their home.

“Astute police investigations then led the investigating officers to a minibus which was used to transport the dead bodies from the original crime scene to where they were dumped. The owner of the minibus, Sthembiso Lamula (42), who was a boyfriend to Slindile, was consequently arrested, and he pleaded guilty on two counts of accessory to the fact.

“He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in the crime. Further investigations led police to two other suspects,” explains Netshiunda.

Netshiunda says that on April 25 2021, one of the two additional suspects pleaded guilty on a count of murder and was subsequently handed a 20-year prison sentence.

Silindile, Andile and the two other suspects have been captured by police, with three having been handed lengthy sentences and one awaiting trial.

The trial of the youngest culprit is still ongoing and she will be in the dock again on Monday.

The police commissioner of KZN, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, applauded the investigative work done by the Provincial Crime Investigation Service (CIS), saying that convictions of this nature are what the public expects from both the police and the courts.

“Sentences of this nature will restore public trust in the justice system, and we appreciate a great relationship between our investigators and the prosecutors. It is through co-operation and a common goal of restoring justice that we have managed to send the criminals to jail for the rest of their lives,” adds Mkhwanazi.